NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont Softball relied on a Herculean effort for a second consecutive extra inning outing to pull out its 23rd victory of the season on Wednesday night. The Bruins (23-6) defeated in-state rival Memphis (15-12) at E.S. Rose Park, 5-4, with a walk-off single in 11 innings.
Belmont jumped on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning, thanks to a triple by junior Lexi Rouse (Macon, Ga.) and a single by sophomore Hayley Baker (Rockwall, Texas). UM fired back notching its first run of the day in the top of the third frame.
BU maintained its one run advantage all the way until the top of the sixth inning when Memphis knotted the score. The 2-2 stalemate would drag on for the next three innings, forcing the contest to initiate the international tiebreaker rule.
In the 10th inning both teams would plate a single run, pushing the game back into a stalemate, this time at 3-3. Memphis would take advantage of a Bruin error in the top of the 11th inning to take a 4-3 lead. With its third pitching change, the Tigers had hoped to have contained the Bruins to secure the sweep of the annual home-and-home duel.
In the bottom of the 11th, BU placed senior Kayla Wells (Bonney Lake, Wash.) on second base in the international tiebreaker. Classmate Chelsey Deloney (Gardendale, Ala.) reached first on four balls after two consecutive put outs. With tension rising, junior Jess Andree (Darien, Ill.) hit a hard single to the third baseman, loading the bases. Finally, freshman Bailey Sims (Flowery Branch, Ga.) drove a single up the middle to score the gamewinner with the help of a Tiger fielding error.
Andree went 3-for-5 at the plate and Sims went 3-for-6. Deloney netted two runs but was walked twice and hit by pitch four times.
Freshman Brooklin Lee (Burns, Tenn.) went the distance inside the circle, tossing all 11 innings and collecting eight strikeouts.
Belmont returns to action this weekend, opening Ohio Valley Conference play on the road. The Bruins travel to Eastern Illinois and SIUE for a pair of doubleheaders.
